Chapter 53

Precisely because it was rarely touched by disaster, coupled with Xiutu's absolute trust, the Zaji tribe possessed a cavalry force five thousand strong. In the eyes of other tribes, this cavalry was practically no different from Xiutu's own personal guards—an untouchable and favored force belonging exclusively to him—leaving no one daring to show the slightest dissatisfaction.

Judging purely from surface appearances, Gratian's faction was undoubtedly at an absolute disadvantage. Yet, once the votes were tallied, it revealed a completely unexpected outcome: Gratian's faction won across the board! 102 to 78! That was the result of the ballot.

Whether they spent every waking moment with me or were complete strangers meeting me for the very first time, anyone who laid eyes on me would instantly be captivated by a youth whose striking and enchanting beauty mirrored that of an elf, utterly falling under a spell and surrendering their hearts forever.

"Wha—" Utterly startled by the scene, Tokisaki Kurumi took a step backward, her eyebrows twitching upward.

"Aside from that, we also have the ring bestowed by the Emperor, which grants us the authority to mobilize the Divine Concealment Assault Group of the temple at any moment. This is a formidable yet highly covert force, and it should prove immensely useful at a critical juncture," Vasters added from the side.

Throughout the entire preceding process, no matter how composed he appeared outwardly, his heart had actually been hanging by a thread, terrified of making even the slightest error.

Witnessing this spectacle, the fury in Xiutu's eyes surged even more violently. Barely managing to suppress the impulse to kill, Xiutu turned his head, just about to order his guards to bring over an officer from among the deserters for questioning. However, catching sight of someone already approaching of their own accord out of the corner of his eye, he checked his movements.

Five-colored divine light burst forth from Bai Tianfan's palm, shining in hues of azure, yellow, crimson, black, and white across the cosmos, illuminating the cold and lonely starry sky.

Employing certain behaviors and language to heighten the sense of oppression was a habitual tactic of Landon's. Yet, executed by a figure resembling a mountain of flesh like Callista, the oppressive aura was far greater than Landon's, though it had not the slightest effect on Landon himself.

"I hope it's just my imagination, but stringing this series of events together, I suddenly seem to catch a glimpse of Cartus's shadow," Oka said, furrowing his brow as he voiced a startling hypothesis.

Yet, at this moment, her mind remained agonizingly lucid. Despite the boundless hatred raging within her, she was denied even the relief of fainting.

Both the Fang family and the Li family resided within this large compound, though the two households were situated quite far apart—one on the eastern side, and the other on the west.

Hearing this, Sun Wukong, who had been standing with crossed arms and head bowed in deep thought, twitched his eyelids and immediately lifted his gaze, catching sight of Youju playing merrily with Zhixin just outside the door.

Below, the towering and ferocious Atto, with a pair of tattered bloody wings upon his back, was genuinely so envious he felt like crying.

How could he possibly know that Gu Chuchu's hesitation wasn't merely because the Phantom was too conspicuous, but also because she had no desire to drag Shamiao into this mess?

Listening to their words, Murong Ke and Ye Lingjia felt their eyes split with rage, burning with the utmost fury. They looked back, desperately searching for members of their own class to stand together and argue their case.

At this moment, a fair and delicate hand waved before Wu Hongxuan's eyes, immediately followed by Zhu Wanfang's crisp yet softly sweet voice.

To be honest, whichever manual Yang Ruoyu chose to study would have no real impact on Zhou Tianyi. Yet deep down in his heart, Zhou Tianyi vaguely felt that the secret technique for refining puppets might well be hidden within those Five Poisons True Scriptures.

Zhang Dayong muttered in utter bewilderment as he watched the two figures leave one after another, both covering their mouths.

Exchanging glances, the few of them silently agreed with Zhou Lie's words, for under the current circumstances, doing this was indeed their only option.

Was there any reason to speak in such a manner?! Uttering words like that meant openly and flagrantly offending a multitude of people.

A middle-aged man dressed entirely in purple robes, his face caked thickly with powder, walked over. His voice was shrill and sarcastic. Possessing only the cultivation level of a Martial Master, he nevertheless acted with supreme arrogance in front of Niu Dingtian, who stood at the peak of the Martial King realm.

The situation had suddenly reached a stalemate; figuring out how to break this deadlock and locate Huang Li had become the crucial key to resolving the entire problem.

Li Hengxuan let out a roar. Unwilling to spare the immense consumption of profound Qi under such circumstances, he employed the Stray Arrow Escape Technique to drastically accelerate and charge forward.

Although Fang Huairan was not the direct superior of the three Tianxong Army deputy commanders, his tactical arrangements at the moment made complete sense. Instead of blindly and stubbornly raising objections, the three deputy commanders simply nodded and immediately set about executing Fang Huairan's orders.

The Youth Camp was also what Li Zixiao valued most, into which he had poured immense effort and painstaking care. He had spared no expense to bring in several excellent private school tutors from the surrounding areas to educate these children.

The City Lord raised both eyebrows. Originally, he had intended for the Third Young Master, Feng Yijian, to marry the Western Regions princess. However, weighing the pros and cons now, Feng Zhixi was unable to prove his whereabouts at that precise time.

Encouraged by the lead taken by a single fisherman, the other fishermen, who had previously dared to harbor anger without speaking out, began to curse in unison as well.

Even many of the Jurchen generals beside him had eyes blazing with fire, eager to slay Shi Ying as they repeatedly requested permission from Soni to lead the battle.

Early the next morning, after handling official business at the yamen, He Zaixu returned to the inner quarters and summoned all members of his household to gather in the front hall. Looking at County Magistrate He, who had been plagued by deep worry over the past few days, sitting in the seat of honor with full official dignity while his various concubines darted their eyes about craftily—

One must realize that the most difficult thing in life is not how perilous the journey ahead may be, but rather being shrouded in dense fog and unable to find the direction forward.

Looking at the barrage suddenly appearing before her eyes and watching the scrolling text, Tang Wan froze for a moment, completely losing all motion.

She pressed a hand to her forehead, led Tang Wan toward the amusement area, and continued tirelessly introducing the attractions to her.

He had planned today's schedule meticulously, intending to take advantage of Shen Zhili's inability to swim to win some favor in her eyes.